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DENVER — Multiple residents reached out to Contact7 to report their concerns about a broken elevator, chained off staircases, trash buildup, and security concerns all at an apartment complex along Colorado Boulevard near City Park.
“It shouldn’t be happening,” resident Ronald De Herrera told Denver7, describing issues at 1601 Colorado Apartments.
De Herrera and at least four other people who live at the apartments told Contact7 about the issues that they are dealing with daily. It starts with the elevator, which has been broken for at least two weeks, according to them. A sign on the elevator reads that the elevator is shut down “for emergency repairs until further notices.”
“We have people in wheelchairs, we have people, a lot of people with disabilities,” De Herrera said.
The alternative way of getting up and down to the multiple levels of units are the stairs. Two separate staircases are chained off, one which is literally falling apart because of rust. The staircases that are open have visible broken concrete and rust as well.
Regarding security, Contact7’s Jason Gruenauer arrived at the complex to find the parking garage door wide open. According to multiple residents, it has been broken for an extended period of time, and homeless people regularly camp out inside, among other issues.
“We’ve had our bikes stolen and cars stolen from there,” De Herrera said.
The Denver Police Department’s crime map confirms multiple police reports of auto theft on that block as well as burglary.
De Herrera said he’s had enough of the problems and is moving out. The other four people all asked to remain anonymous due to worries of retaliation by management. One sent a video documenting the problems, another sent multiple photos documenting the stairs, trash, and elevator.
Contact7 went to the management office on site and was told the property manager was “at another property.” The apartment complex’s corporate owner, Dominium Apartments, responded in an email statement on Friday saying:
“1601 Colorado Apartments’s management takes maintenance concerns seriously. We have maintenance repairs coming in tomorrow (Saturday, February 22) for the elevators and construction is planned for the stairs as well. We hope to have both functioning as soon as possible. We are working hard to make this a comfortable and pleasant place to live for all of our residents.”
